The ARGENTINE JOUNAL OF SURGERY is the official entity of the Argentine Association of Surgery, published every other month. It will consider for publication articles related to different aspects of surgery, which will be subject to a blind peer review system through a specific form. The articles may refer to clinical or experimental research, conferences, original unpublished articles, collective reviews, case presentation, letters to the Director and other forms of publication accepted by the Editing Board. Every article must be unpublished. No published material may be reproduced in whole or in part without the prior consent of the Editing Board of the Journal.
Opinions given in the papers are the exclusive responsibility of their authors. The Editing Board will have the right to correct the grammar, style and other aspects, depending on printing needs.
Due to the mailing costs, papers will not always be returned to the authors, but illustrations always will. Incomplete papers will not be accepted for editorial review.

Send an original and 2 copies of the paper in Spanish (including 2 separate sets of copies with labels for the illustrations), and also a copy in electronic media in Word, using font Times New Roman 12. Write only on one side of the sheet, using double space, A4 paper, 36 lines and at least 3 cm left margin. Write the first author’s last name on the upper right corner of each page. Organize the paper as follows: 1) title and authors page; 2) summary or abstract; 3) text; 4) bibliography; 5) tables; 6) legends. Number the pages consecutively starting with the title page as page 1 and ending with the illustration and/or graph legend page.

The original article must no exceed 12 written pages and the extension of illustrations and tables included must be proportional.

Case reports must have a summary in accordance with the Scientific Style and Format of the Council of Science Editors (2002).

The text of case reports must not exceed 4 pages written with double space. If tables or illustrations are included, the text must be reduced. Longer case reports will not be considered for publication.

Bibliographic references must be selected and relevant to the article presented. Except for collective reviews, original articles must not have more than 20 citations and case reports, 5.

Title page

Give the article a title of no more than 2 lines of 50 characters each. Include the names of authors who actually participated in the design, drafting and execution of the paper with the highest academic degree. Include the name and location of the institution where the work was carried out.

If the article has been presented at a congress or conference, write a footnote with the name, place and date of the event.

Summary

Write a structured summary (in Spanish and English) of 100 to 250 words for an original article. A structured summary is composed of a background, objective, setting, design, population, method, outcome measures, results and conclusions. It will be written by items, not narrated.

Text

It must be organized as follows: Introduction, Material and Methods, Results and Discussion.

Bibliographical references must be relevant to the subject and include, if possible, Argentine authors. They will be written in alphanumerical order in the text, ordered by the last name of the first writer, and each citation must have the relevant number next to it.

Citations must follow this order: year, volume number, first and last page. Identify references in the text with Arabic numerals on the same text line. Do not cite personal communications, unfinished drafts and other unpublished and unverifiable data. Bibliographic citations that cannot be checked with the original texts will not be accepted. We advise against citing summaries and electronic journals. Write references with double space in a separate sheet of paper. Double check references in order to avoid repetition.

Every abbreviation must be defined between brackets the first time it is used, following the spelled out form. Do not write abbreviations in summaries.

Statistical analysis must be specified at the end of the section Method.

Write the acknowledgements including subsidies or scholarships received at the end of the text, before bibliographical citations.

Tables
They must be presented in separate sheets with double space, each one numbered with an Arabic numeral and title before with the explanatory notes and legends below if necessary. Identify abbreviations used below tables. Include the written consent of the author and editor if you reproduce a table that has already been published. Tables must be self explanatory and must not repeat the text or illustrations.Figures (graphs, drawings or pictures)
Send three sets of illustrations, each one with its envelope. If there are 2 parts of the same illustration (part A and B), they must be sent separately. Photographs are preferred. They must be clear and sharp enough to keep their qualities once they are reduced for publication.
Each one must have a legend and abbreviations must be explained.
Write the name of the first author, the figure number and the arrow indicating the top border on the back of the illustration.Research on human beings
Specify if the work has been approved by the acting Institutional Ethics Board or by the ethical rules followed by researchers/authors with informed consent. In the case of research with animals, it must also be controlled by the Institutional Ethics Board and/or in accordance with the Ethics and Deontology Manual for Surgeons (Argentine Surgery Association, 1996).Conflict of Interests
The journal requires authors to reveal any business association that may give rise to a conflict of interests in relation to the manuscript. Any subsidy or resources used in the work will be acknowledged in a footnote.Scientific Responsibility and Exclusive Publication Statement (letter attached to the manuscript sent), it must read as follows:
I certify that no material of the work presented has been published before or is currently under consideration for presentation at symposiums, books, articles to be published by invitation or preliminary publications of any kind, except in summaries of no more than 300 words.
Signature of author(s)

Original and 2 copies including summary, legends, tables
. 2 sets of illustrations clearly described in accordance with the illustrations
. Number every page.
. Article written with double space
. In the first page, indicate the author that will answer mail with complete address, phone and fax numbers, and e-mail address.
. Signature by every author of Scientific Responsibility and Exclusive Publication statements
. Complete bibliographical references in alpha-numerical order
. Inclusion of written consent to reproduce or adapt illustrations and tables
. Informed consent of patient for photographs to be published